Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-27gpq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T11:19:42.151Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Evaluating lethal control in the management of human–wildlife conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2009

Adrian Treves
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, USA
Lisa Naughton-Treves
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, USA
Rosie Woodroffe
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Simon Thirgood
Affiliation:
Zoological Society, Frankfurt
Alan Rabinowitz
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society, New York
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Throughout human history, agriculturists have used an array of techniques (irrigation, cultivation, fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, fences, etc.) to give domesticated species a competitive edge over wild plants and animals. Often the cheapest and most practical strategy came down to killing the competition – especially large vertebrates. Government agencies traditionally responded to agriculturalists' needs without concern for wildlife survival. In fact, the original mission of many wildlife management agencies was not to protect wildlife, but rather to kill all wild animals that threatened human safety or agricultural development (Graham 1973). Because of their slow reproductive rates and low density, large vertebrates proved relatively easy to eliminate, especially as people added poison, guns and bounty payments to their arsenal. Thus in the name of economic progress wolves were extirpated from most of the USA in a few decades (Young and Goldman 1944). Similarly, colonial officers ‘liberated’ vast tracts of fertile land in Africa from elephants, leopards and other threatening species (Naughton-Treves 1999; Treves & Naughton-Treves 1999). Elsewhere in the world, formal and informal lethal control programmes have driven the decline and even the extinction of several wildlife species (Breitenmoser 1998; Naughton-Treves 1999; Wilcove 1999; Woodroffe et al., Chapter 1).

Environmentalists today look back on these militaristic, morally charged campaigns in horror. Their calls to restore and protect wildlife are inspired by an increased appreciation of non-materialist values of wildlife. Now wildlife managers must respond to two seemingly contradictory mandates.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×